Wizard of Oz Daycare Center

He furrowed his brow. Operation Shiro was almost complete. The thick-walled fortress was built to withstand any enemy attack. The towers were high. The moat was deep.  With careful precision, he lifted his arm to complete the final pillar. He began to breathe the relieving declaration under his breath.

"Ninmu-"

"HEEEEEEERRROOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Heero looked up with wide eyes just in time to see the obsessive pacifist charging toward him. The blond and pink ball of energy slid to a stop before him, one foot skidding forward just enough to knock a hole in the bottom of the fortress. Shocked and dismayed, Heero watched as his sand castle crumbled like crackers under an elephant. Still dumbfounded, he stared at the lump of sand at his feet as Relena giggled like a little schoolgirl beside him. He wasn't upset because his creation had been destroyed, or that he'd been working on it since lunch hour. It was that his forbidden treasure had been unveiled.

"Heero!" Relena pulled the dusty pistol out of the giant pile of devastation. "You know you're not supposed to have this stuff here! Mr. Trieze said so yesterday!" Heero glared at her, but said nothing.

Noin hid behind a tree like a camouflaged comrade, quietly giggling to herself. She turned her video camera away from Heero and Relena and pointed it at herself.

"Hi, my name is Lucrezia Noin, and this is my daycare. It's called the Wizard of Oz Daycare Centre. This daycare is on X18-999, but I think there's one in the L1 colony cluster somewhere too. Now, I just gotta find…oh wait, there he is!"

"Relena…what exactly are you doing?" Milliardo asked, observing the odd combination of Heero's deadly glare and Relena's bubbly laughter. Spotting Heero's gun in the sand, he instinctively hauled Relena up and led her away.

"Keep that gun hidden. I'd like to kill you myself; it'd be a waste if you killed yourself first," he whispered as he walked away dragging Relena beside him. As he passed through the play area, he overheard Catherine's coaching hollers.

"…and you want to feel the bar in front of you before you switch your weight onto the other foot, and…watch your step there…good…" Catherine watched anxiously as Trowa silently walked across the bar. Suddenly he lost his footing and began flailing frantically. Trying to regain his balance, he looked at the bar and noticed peanut butter smeared evenly over the cold metal. He tumbled unceremoniously into the sandbox as Catherine ran to his side in a frenzy.

"Trowa! Trowa, are you alright? Can you hear me, Trowa? How many fingers am I holding up?" Trowa just stared up at her.

"Three."

"Trowa! You're alright!" Catherine exclaimed. "What happened there? Did you hurt yourself? You were doing so well? Did you get distracted?" Just then, she noticed Dorothy intensely watching the play area from atop a nearby slide. Gazing at the peanut butter on the bar, she figured that this was probably one of Dorothy's devious pranks.

Dorothy was actually oblivious to Catherine's tragedy, as she was consumed by her own overwhelming glory. She, Dorothy Catalonia, had defeated a gundam. From her high perch on the slide, she arrogantly mocked the small gundam model stuck face-down in the sand like an ostrich. Feeling confident in her skills, she scanned the area for another opponent. Her eyes locked onto Quatre and his naive set of mobile suit models. He not only had a gundam, but he had an entire army of Maguanac suits! It would be a glorious victory indeed to defeat him. The temptation was delicious.

Quatre innocently sipped his tea as he knelt upon his silk blanket. He glanced beside him, assuring himself that his beloved Sandrock was still within arm's reach. Suddenly, his serenity was broken by the sound of a snapping twig, followed by loud snickers and frantic screaming.

Nearby, Hilde waved her wooden weapon desperately as she backed away from her opponent. Duo fearlessly advanced, trying to get past Hilde's defense. The frenzied girl suddenly tripped backwards over the 'B' building block, allowing Duo his chance to claim victory. He pointed his 'sword' at Hilde's tightened throat, letting a mischevious cackle escape his lips.

"I won! I won!" he yelled excitedly. "There isn't one kid in this place that could beat me!"

Duo and Hilde's chaotic fight had wreaked havoc onto the nearby feasting chickens, bringing a grumpy frown to Wufei's stone face. The unjust commotion had disrupted his act of kindness, having volunteered to feed the hens and chicks himself. Despite his frustration, the honorable thing to do would be to continue his good deed.

Sally, having come out to feed the chickens herself, recognized Wufei's contribution. She considered warning him of the chickens' nature to peck. But she reconsidered, knowing he wouldn't want advice from a 'weak woman' like her.

Treize held the door for Lady Une as they entered the play area. Noticing the children at play, a smile crept onto their faces. "Alright, children! It's snack time. Go wash up and head to the snack tables immediately," Lady Une commanded. The kids cheered and ran to the sinks.